


Oh Calamity

by Chrystie, kate882



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuro Week 2016, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Human!Kuroko, M/M, and now it's finally being posted for akakuro week, god!akashi, we actually wrote this about two months ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 04:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6551179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrystie/pseuds/Chrystie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate882/pseuds/kate882
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko was just looking for a quiet place to study. A shrine seemed like as good a place as any. If only the god of that shrine didn't disagree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oh Calamity

Not many people came to the shrine of a god of calamity in modern times. Usually it was bitter ex’s or vengeful widows. All just people looking for something bad to happen to someone else. Sometimes people went as a joke to scare their friends, or on dares with claims of the shrine being haunted. For the most part though, it seemed to be a quiet place, so Kuroko took to studying there. In theory the library at his school would be better, but since people did not notice him, they didn’t really notice when they were disturbing him. The shrine was a short walk away, so for quiet and convenience he started studying there.

Akashi watched the human visit his shrine from the moment he noticed his presence there was going to be a regular occurrence. Although he always appreciated it when humans visited him during such an era of peace, even if most of the time it was out of spite for someone else, this human had no such ill intent. He never came to his temple to pray to him, asking for him to ruin someone’s life. All this human did was simply sit down at the temple and flip through his books. Akashi couldn’t find this to be anything more than rude.

On the seventh day the human decided to visit his shrine, Akashi decided to confront him on his manners and respect. He materialised himself on Earth as an average human, and approached the human as he wrote down a few notes from his textbook. “Is it not rude to use the shrine of a god as a study area?”

Kuroko looked up and briefly made eye contact with the stranger. “Perhaps. I haven’t seen anything saying that I shouldn’t. It is, however, rude to interrupt someone’s studying, I believe.” He replied before looking back down at his book.

Had Akashi had any less patience for humans, he might have considered divine punishment for such a rude human who dared to speak to him in such a way. He would have continued with reprimanding the human for his rudeness, however he also had to maintain his current disguise as a human, and having not visited the human world for many centuries, he was no longer familiar with the manners and customs. “Is it really?”

“Yes. Because it takes time away from my learning, which affects my grades, which affects my future.” Kuroko informed him as he continued to read. He’d started coming here to not be disturbed, and he hoped that he wasn’t going to have to find a new spot to study.

“I see.” He supposed that made sense. He’d always found the current education system to be hopelessly flawed. “Is it not customary then, to do your studying in areas you are least likely to be disturbed?”

Kuroko sighed and marked his place in the textbook before closing it and giving the redhead his full attention. “Up until you came along, I wasn’t being disturbed here. Which is why I have been studying here instead of elsewhere.”

“I see. Well then,” Akashi moved to sit on the step of his shrine Kuroko had sat himself on, the books laid out in between them. “Please continue,” Akashi gestured to the books.

Kuroko gave Akashi a skeptical look, but decided to ignore him for the time being. He continued to study for another half hour, feeling a vague sense of unease at being so openly watched by the other, but ignored that as well. When the time came he closed his book and started packing his things to go back to school.

Akashi spoke up just as the human was about to leave, “Now that you are done, I believe the god here would not appreciate your use of his temple.”

“I have yet to hear any complaints from him, so I’m not particularly worried.” Kuroko replied, picking up his bag and getting to his feet.

Akashi could only inwardly laugh at the irony in the human's’ words. ”I believe a caretaker of the shrine complaining should hold some weight in your decision to be stubborn about this.”

“You work here?” Kuroko tilted his head. “You don’t look any older than me. Shouldn’t you be in school?”

Akashi shook his head, “I find education pointless when it doesn’t prove to actually be able teach me much of anything.”

“Good luck getting a decently paying job with that philosophy. If it bothers you that much that I come here though, I will relocate.”  

“My philosophy is related to my profession. I am bonded to this place so I will continue to take care of it.” Akashi couldn’t say he had much of a good impression of the human, but he  gave a good amount of insight on the current human mannerisms. It was enlightening.

“Right, well, good luck with that. Have a nice day.” He waved and started his walk to the school.

Akashi watched the human leave with only a small amount of the frustration he’d felt earlier. At least coming down to the human realm served some purpose and it felt somewhat nostalgic being in his human disguise again. Perhaps he would stay for a while.

* * *

Kuroko did stay away for a little while, but when finals started to roll around he could feel a headache coming on just  _ looking  _ at the school library. He decided to risk it. If the person who took care of the shrine was there again, he could leave, but he was never going to get any work done in the library.

Which is how Kuroko found himself back at the shrine with about five books open, a laptop out, and several notebooks and zero plans of going to his last two classes of the day since the powerpoints were online.

Akashi approached the human under the guise of sweeping up around the temple, watching him but not interrupting his studying with memories of their last meeting.

Kuroko noticed the redhead, but decided not to comment since he wasn’t telling Kuroko to leave. He continued his work until his eyelids started to feel heavy, and he convinced himself that he’d just rest them for a minute. A minute later found him passed out with his keyboard being used as a pillow.

Akashi found himself smiling at sight. Humans were quite endearing when they worked themselves so hard for small achievements that would ultimately mean nothing to them when they were older. He gave the boy a small tap on his shoulder to rouse him from his sleep.

Kuroko sat up slowly, blinking a few times as he looked sleepily at Akashi, the indent of his keyboard had already started to form on his cheek. “How long was I sleeping?”

“I’d say about twenty minutes. You must be exhausted. I would have let you sleep longer, but I’m sure that isn’t very good for your back.”

“Next week is finals week. Everyone is exhausted.” Kuroko told him, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep from them before stretching.

Akashi tilted his head slightly, “Are these finals so important that you exert this much stress over them?” From what Akashi remembered, finals were generalized knowledge based tests given to students to see how much they know. He didn’t think they should cause so much stress if that was all they were.

“I should probably be stressing more. I apologize for borrowing, and sleeping in, your shrine after you told me you didn’t like me being here. The library was too loud.”

“I believe the god of calamity will forgive you, given the amount of stress you’re under, however I believe a bed is the best place to sleep.” While Akashi still found it upsetting that his main visitor was a boy who simply wanted a quiet place to study, he wasn’t so strict that he would demand the boy to leave when it was clear that he was working himself to the bone.

“Calamity doesn't sound like a very forgiving type of god, but I can't say I know much about them, so I'll hope that you're right.” Kuroko told him with a tiny smile. “Would you mind if I stayed a bit longer? I wanted to get through at least one more powerpoint before going home.”

Akashi wasn’t too sure what a powerpoint was but he decided it couldn’t have been too long, and the boy was probably going to stay regardless of what he said, “You can stay as long as you can keep awake, that is, unless you like having squares imprinted on your face.”

Kuroko’s brows furrowed and he reached to to touch his face. “Oh.” He couldn't think of a comeback to that when half awake so he just turned back to taking notes from the power point.

Akashi gave a small chuckle and left him to his work. The boy was definitely endearing.

When he finally finished the powerpoint Kuroko closed his laptop and stretched before he started packing up his things.

“I hope heading home entails that you plan to have dinner and sleep.” During the time Kuroko had been studying, the sun had started to set, and Kuroko looked as though he was fighting off sleep as he scrolled through his laptop.

“Uh, maybe. It probably doesn’t really for at least a few more hours, but such is the life of a college student.” Kuroko told him. “Maybe the god of calamity will take pity on me and get my history paper pushed back somehow.” He added teasingly.

“Well, who knows, maybe he’ll grant you such a favour.” There was an odd glint in Akashi’s eye as he held back the urge to smirk.

“Maybe.” Kuroko agreed with little faith in the idea actually happening. “Would you actually be upset if I kept coming here? The library is always quite loud this time of year. It makes it a lot harder to concentrate.”

“I think I can allow that. Although if you plan to sleep here again I’d suggest bringing a pillow and blanket,” Akashi teased.

Kuroko felt his face heat up a bit. “I didn’t plan on sleeping this time either.” He said, running a hand through his hair before getting to his feet.

“Just a suggestion. I’ll see you tomorrow I’m assuming?”

Kuroko nodded. “If you plan to be here around the same time, then yes.” He confirmed.

“I’ve told you, I am bond here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kuroko waved before walking off.

He didn’t even bother to look at the library the next day and just headed straight for the shrine. He did, however, bring some money to donate to the god of calamity. Kuroko didn’t consider himself a superstitious person, but when the online dropbox for the paper disappeared and he got an email saying that it was pushed back due to technical difficulties, he could recognize that it was an odd coincidence. So, before unpacking all of his study materials he walked over to the donation box and dropped a few yen into it. 

“I see you’ve decided to pay your respects today. Why the sudden change?” Akashi asked from behind him. Of course Akashi had an idea of why Kuroko had decided to offer him money. He had to admit, tampering with technology was a lot easier than how he used to cause calamity.

“I don’t particularly believe in tempting fate. While I can’t say I have feelings one way or another about gods and such, I can notice that it’s odd when I complain about a paper here and how I would like for it to be pushed back and then exactly that happens.” Kuroko replied.

“I suppose he heard you then. It’s not unlikely while we are on his temple grounds.” Which was technically not a lie in Akashi’s mind.

“I thought that you said that he wouldn’t like me studying all the time here. Why would he feel so inclined to help me when I have been so rudely using his shrine?”

Akashi hummed in mock contemplation, “Perhaps he felt pity for you and the unnecessary amount of stress you’re under.”

Kuroko laughed at that. “They should take pity on the other students too then. Education is not even the most stressful major.”

“Perhaps, although most students don’t visit his shrine so often, even if it is just for studying.”

“Well, now he can’t complain that it was just for studying since I donated.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Akashi was thankful that for a donation that, for the first time in a very long time, wasn’t given with the ill intent of petty revenge. “I wish you luck with your studies.”

“Thank you.” Kuroko started to unpack his things before suddenly looking up. “I don’t actually think we have done introductions. I am Kuroko Tetsuya.” He held out his hand politely to shake.

“No, we haven’t. I go by Akashi Seijurou.” Akashi took the hand, giving it a shake before letting go, which he had recently learned was now a polite way of greeting someone rather than bowing.

Kuroko arched an eyebrow. “I don’t claim to know much about the gods, but I do know the name of the one who’s shrine I use to study.”

“Is that so? How very odd.” Akashi kept a small smile on his lips as he spoke with a less than innocent voice.

“So, what is your  _ actual  _ name?” He asked curiously.

“I think I’ll continue using Akashi,” Akashi may have been garnering too much amusement from this.

“I think that may be considered blasphemy.” Kuroko remarked.

“I can’t say that it is,” at least not in his case, “If it makes you more comfortable then you can call me Seijurou. I believe that’s a fairly commonly used Japanese name.”

“I would prefer to call you by your real name.” Kuroko told him with a slight frown.

“Then I believe Seijurou should work fine,” Akashi continued to insist with the same unwavering smile.

Kuroko decided to go with the assumption that that was actually the man’s first name. “It would be rather rude to address you so informally so early into knowing you.”

“I don’t think it’s rude if I give you permission to do so.” He supposed he’d have to get used to a human not referring to him as ’Akashi-sama’, but Kuroko would get suspicious if he insisted on the use of his last name.

Kuroko looked distinctly uncomfortable as he responded. “I disagree, . . . Seijurou-san. I also don’t understand why you’re being so difficult about it.”

Akashi hummed, “Perhaps I just prefer being referred to by my first name, or maybe I simply enjoy teasing you.”

“I get the feeling that it’s the second one.” Kuroko said flatly.

“A mystery I’m sure we’ll never be able to solve, I’m afraid,” Akashi mockingly sighed.

Kuroko narrowed his eyes slightly at that, but decided against responding. Instead, he continued to unpack his things so that he could start studying.

Akashi could only chuckle at that. “I’ll talk to you in a few hours from now, Tetsuya.”

“Can I get your proper name in a few hours?”

“Perhaps. We’ll just have to find out in a few hours, won’t we?”

Kuroko started working on his notes instead of answering that. When he felt like he was about to pass out he decided it was time to put his things away and go home. “So, do I get your name yet?”

“Oh, glad to see you didn’t fall asleep today, although I did prepare for you a blanket,” Akashi held out the blanket he had materialised during the time Kuroko was distracted and looked as though he was ready to doze off.

Kuroko looked over at him with wide eyes. “When? I didn’t see it earlier.”

“I kept it inside the temple and grabbed while you were just about to fall asleep,” Akashi smoothly lied.

“No, you didn’t. You’ve been out here this whole time.” Kuroko argued.

Akashi tilted his head slightly, his expression remaining unfazed, “Have I been?”

“Yes.” His brows furrowed and a tiny frown had found its way onto his lips.

Akashi chuckled and took a step closer to Kuroko, gently tapping at the furrow in Kuroko’s forehead, “Don’t worry too much about it. I think you have enough to worry about currently.”

Kuroko pushed Akashi’s hand away. He must have missed him going inside. That was the only reasonable explanation. But . . . he would have heard footsteps or noticed Akashi wasn’t in sight when he glanced around to see if he was still there. “You’re not wrong.” He conceded.

“Yes. I’m sure your tests are much more important than uncovering the mysteries behind my silent steps.”

“And your lack of a name.” Kuroko added as he packed his things.

“Yes, and that too. I’m sure you’ll figure out those on your own time.” Akashi wouldn’t really mind too much if Kuroko were to figure out who he was. A part of him wanted Kuroko to figure it out with all of the hints he’d given him.

“You could just tell me,” he pointed out, getting to his feet.

“I believe you’ll be able to piece this together yourself, Tetsuya.” Akashi gave Kuroko a quick pat on the head, ruffling his hair slightly.

“Perhaps you'd do better to watch over Takao-sama’s shrine. Mischief and mystery and all that.” Kuroko batted his hand away and tried to get his hair to lay flat again.

“He is known for that isn’t he?” Akashi could recall the few times he’d met Takao, and could tell that Takao, while also one to enjoy toying with humans, was not opposed to messing with gods as well. Needless to say, Takao did not make any good impressions on Akashi. “Unfortunately, as I have said before, this is where I shall continue to stay.”

“Why?” Kuroko tilted his head. “What's so special about Akashi-sama that you want to dedicate yourself to his shrine?”

Akashi almost wanted to applaud Kuroko for finding a question he didn’t have a preplanned answer for, “Well… let’s just say I feel a special connection to him.”

Kuroko didn't want to pry into- essentially- a stranger’s business, so he decided not to push it, even though his eyes still held a curious glint in them. He couldn't help but wonder what brought about a connection to a calamity god after all. Maybe he would start looking more into the gods during his break, when he actually had the free time. “Perhaps I’ll figure that out later as well. I'm afraid I won't be solving any mysteries before all of my finals are done though. I don't think there's enough space in my head for it, between trying to remember sleeping and eating and all of the formulas calculus has to offer.”

“I can’t imagine there would be. With how hard I’ve seen you study, I’m surprised eating and sleeping are still on the list.”

“Well… They usually are.” He amended sheepishly.  

Akashi gave Kuroko’s forehead a soft flick, “Please remember to at least eat. I’m sure you have more time now that your essay’s due date has been pushed back.”

“Ow,” Kuroko mumbled, rubbing his forehead absently. “You sound like my friend right now. I'm pretty sure he stole one of my keys just for the purpose of making sure I take care of myself during finals and midterms, because those are the only times he just walks into my dorm.”

“Then you have a very good friend. It’s good to have someone take care of you when you neglect to do so.”

“Agree to disagree. I would prefer if Kagami-kun didn't use my health as an excuse to neglect his own studies.”

Akashi could only laugh at the revelation, which he hid behind a hand, “Maybe the two of you could try learning from each other.”

Kuroko decided that Akashi looked quite pretty when he laughed. “I would prefer not to. Kagami-kun is a bad teacher. Which is probably why I am the education major instead of him.”

“Then perhaps just try to adopt the mentality of eating regularly. I believe your health is more important that a test score.”

Kuroko shrugged. “The school system seems to disagree. Or, I suppose the system in general, since the school is just a step towards everything else.” It sure was finals week if he was talking like that. Not that it wasn't true, but he didn't really know Akashi, so it was a bit odd to complain about how the world worked to him.

Akashi nodded in agreement, “Yes. A human’s life is very hard and human systems have never been perfect, but I believe they are improving.” Akashi had always found it regrettable that gods could only do so much to make a human’s life easier while humans trudged through hardships that he believed gods should be allowed to guide them through.

“I suppose they are. Perfection is a hard thing to achieve though.” Kuroko replied. “Either way, I should get going. I won’t get close to perfect grades if I don’t try and get at least a little rest.”  

“I wish you luck.” Akashi gave a small wave as Kuroko turned to leave.

“I almost want to ask if you think the god of calamity would just end me before my next test, but considering the last time I did something like that it actually happened, I think it’s best I don’t.” Kuroko had given up for the moment, and was simply laying down amongst his study material, staring up at the shine’s ceiling.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that, although I have doubts that he’d listen to that specific request.” Akashi sat himself down next to Kuroko’s study material, looking down at him with an amused smile.

“True. He’d lose his most frequent customer.” Kuroko replied.

That was very true. Ever since Akashi had pushed Kuroko’s paper due date back, Kuroko had taken to donating a small amount every time he stopped by. “I think other than that, you also might have grown on him.”

“Do people grow on gods? Individually, I mean. As a whole I suppose we are useful to them, but to someone who can live forever we must seem quite small and fleeting.”

Humans did seem small and fleeting to Akashi, and he’d never really bothered to interact with one for a longer time than necessary, the longest time before Kuroko being a couple of hours. It was sad that they died so quickly, but it was how they were created. There was nothing he could do. “Perhaps you’ve come here enough that he’s grown fond of you.”

“I thought I was being rude using his shrine. That was the first thing you told me when you suddenly appeared here.”

“Maybe he enjoys listening to our conversations. You can be quite entertaining to talk to.”

“I mostly complain about school.” Kuroko pointed out. “I feel like I’ll be more entertaining when I don’t have finals.”

“And maybe that’s why he’ll keep you around.” Truthfully, Akashi had actually grown to like Kuroko as a companion to talk to. While he enjoyed the company of other gods from time to time, it was interesting having someone to talk to in the human realm. It gave him a new insight on things.

“Well, I suppose I can’t get mad at him for eavesdropping since he helped me with my history paper.” He looked towards the center of the shrine. “Thank you, Akashi-sama. But please mind your own business.”

Akashi chuckled into his hand, “What if I’m giving him permission to listen in on our conversations?”

“Then he only has half concent, because I didn’t give permission. So, he should still mind his own business.”

“Even if we’re having our conversation’s at his shrine?”

“Yes.”

Akashi wanted to laugh at the ridiculous irony of their conversation, even if it wasn’t the first conversation where he’d had to refer to himself as a third person. It was oddly entertaining to him. “I don’t see what’s wrong about letting Akashi-sama listen in on our conversation. I doubt he’ll do much of anything with the content of what we talk about.”

“It’s still rude.” Kuroko went back to looking up at the ceiling.

“Should I take by your position on the ground that you’ve given up on studying?”

“I think I’m taking a break.” Kuroko answered.

“Would you like the blanket?” Akashi had stored the blanket in the shrine after he’d materialised it, in case Kuroko fell asleep again.

“If I use a blanket I’ll sleep, and if I sleep I don’t think I will wake up.” Kuroko decided after a moment to consider.

“I’ll wake you,” Akashi offered.

“I really shouldn’t sleep anyway. I have more studying to do.”

“Then I hope you don’t drop any books or your computer on your face while in this position.” Akashi held up a book towards Kuroko, offering it to him to continue his studying.

Kuroko made a pained sound and turned over so that he was laying face down and couldn’t see the book.

Akashi ruffled Kuroko’s hair with a quiet chuckle, “It’s nice to see that the stress of studying no longer compels you to stare at this book for several hours on end, even though it unfortunately makes you wish to end yourself.”

Kuroko just repeated the sound and blindly reached out to shoved Akashi’s hand away from his hair.

“Your vocabulary is lovely when you’re like this, Tetsuya.” Akashi playfully poked at the hand that was trying to swat his away before going back ruffling his hair.

Kuroko decided that it was too much work to try and move Akashi’s hand so he just laid there and let the other play with his hair. It would be a mess, but he didn’t really care that much.

Akashi stopped his ruffling to start combing his fingers through Kuroko’s hair, brushing down the mess he’d made. “If it’s still troubling you this much, maybe you should ask Akashi-sama for another extension.”

“No. I think I’ve troubled him enough. And I just called him a rude eavesdropper. I’ll get it done. I just need to lay here for a while first.”

“If you say so.” They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Akashi mindlessly continuing to comb his fingers through Kuroko’s hair.

After about ten minutes, it was apparent that Kuroko was no longer awake, as he wasn’t even trying to keep his eyes open anymore.

Akashi had figured Kuroko would. The boy wasn’t very good at hiding when he was tired. He summoned the blanket to him and draped it over Kuroko. He’d wake him up in an hour if he didn’t wake himself up by then.

An hour came and went and during the time Akashi busied himself with small tasks of cleaning the shrine, willing various brooms and washcloths around while checking every now and then to make sure Kuroko didn’t wake up and catch the not very human work. He gently tapped Kuroko on the shoulder to rouse him from his nap.

“Seijuro-san?” He mumbled, looking up at Akashi sleepily.

“Did you have a good nap?” Akashi smiled down at him.

“You let me sleep.” He accused around a yawn.

“I did,” Akashi agreed without a shred of guilt, “You’re very tired. I think you deserved the nap.”

“How long did I sleep?” Kuroko asked, sitting up and revealing the full extent of his bed head.

“Only an hour, even if your hair seems to suggest a full night.” Akashi supposed some of it was partly his fault.

Kuroko relaxed a bit upon realizing it hadn't been for all that long. He started working on flattening his hair as he became more and more awake. “Thank you for waking me.”

“I said I would. You should have a little more faith in me.”

“You won't even tell me your name. It's not faith inspiring, Seijuro-san.” Kuroko pointed out.

“Oh? I believe I’ve given you a name.”

“A name, but not  _ your _ name. Some might call it vain to call yourself by the name of a god.”

Akashi hummed thoughtfully, “I’ll tell you my name one of these days.” Akashi had faith that Kuroko could figure it out on his own, so his statement was more or less a small lie.

“I don't really believe you.” Kuroko told him.

Akashi sighed exasperatedly, “Your lack of faith wounds me.”

“I also don’t believe that.” Kuroko told him with a tiny smile.

Akashi chuckled quietly, “I believe you’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“I still think you should have worked at Takao-sama’s shrine with this kind of attitude.”  

Akashi briefly wondered if he should feel insulted at the constant comparison Kuroko made of him and Takao. He’d be sure to never let Takao hear of it, lest he wanted to be reminded of their comparison for the rest of his immortal life. “Is that a suggestion that I should inflict calamity on your life instead?”

“Certainly not. All of these test and papers do that well enough on their own.” Kuroko told him.

“And if I’m intentionally distracting you from them to make your life more difficult?”

“I would still suggest you work at Takao-sama’s shrine.”

“That is a piece of advice I will surely never consider.” Akashi reached over to touch a fluff of hair that still stuck up in an odd angle. “Would you like a comb? Your hair is truly amazing.”

“Do you live here? Or is it just normal for shrines to have blankets and combs?” Kuroko asked, raising an eyebrow.

Akashi figured that he technically didn’t. He technically lived in the realm of the gods and simply owned the shrine. “I’m here for multiple hours of the day. I don’t think it’s that odd to keep some supplies here.”

“Do you think Akashi-sama likes you keeping your things here?”

“I don’t think he minds, as I do keep the grounds clean and taken care of.” Akashi was pretty sure he would actually mind a bit if someone other than himself had done the same thing, but he certainly wasn’t against keeping things in his own shrine.

“I certainly hope that he doesn’t mind. I would hate for calamity to fall upon your life.” Kuroko responded.

Akashi blinked a few times before smiling, “Thank you. It’s nice to know you care.”

Kuroko smiled back. “Of course. You’ve been very nice to me these past few days.”

“And it’s not because you’re my only visitor,” Akashi added with a small chuckle.

“I would hope it’s not just that.” He said, clearly amused.

Akashi lowered his hand from playing with the tufts of Kuroko’s hair down to gently grip his chin, humming thoughtfully, “I assure you: it’s not.”

Kuroko felt a light blush forming on his face and his eyes widened ever so slightly. “Then why is it?”

“I enjoy your company,” which was true. Akashi very much did enjoy Kuroko’s company, which was one of the original reason he was so kind to Kuroko.

“I enjoy yours as well.” Kuroko smiled despite the blush on his face.

Akashi dropped his hand with a pleased smile. “I’m glad. I was under the suspicion that you simply put up with me to study here.”

“I wouldn’t continue to converse with you if that were the case.”

Akashi turned to look up at the sky with a smile, inching his hand closer to Kuroko’s until their pinkies touched, “Then I don’t regret allowing you to stay here.”

Kuroko smiled at him, linking their pinkies together.

Akashi laced the rest of their fingers together before lightly tapping Kuroko’s head with one of his books. “I believe you were studying.”

“It’s rude to hit people with textbooks.” Kuroko complained, but took it anyway.

“I thought you could use the reminder. Of course, I could continue distracting you if you want.”

“No, I really should study.” Kuroko sighed, freeing his hand to get back to work.

Akashi reached over with his newly freed hand to tuck a strand of loose hair behind Kuroko’s ear, resting his hand there for a moment, “I’ll leave you to it then,” and with that, his hand dropped and he got up to leave Kuroko to his work.

* * *

A few days later Kuroko showed up with a book on the god of calamity and sat down to read that at the shrine.

Akashi approached Kuroko from behind him, coming out of the shrine. “I see you’ve decided to do some light reading. I take it that means you’re done with your school work.”

“Yes. Finally. And now I get a month long break.” Kuroko replied as he continued to read.

Akashi moved to sit down next to him, “That’s good to hear. And nice that you’re still coming here despite that.”

“I like spending time with you, and I’m still hoping to find out your name, so of course I’m still coming here. Unless you want me to stop.”

Akashi shook his head, “As I’ve said, I enjoy your company.” Akashi leaned over to see what Kuroko was reading about, “Is there any reason you’ve decided to read up on Akashi-sama?” After keeping his act up for so long, it hardly felt odd to refer to himself in such a way anymore.

“Because I’m only half convinced that you’re not him.” The words only came out half jokingly as well.

Akashi arched a brow, inwardly delighted that Kuroko was at least, in a way, suspicious. “Oh? And why do you think that?”

“Because you didn’t show up until several days into me studying here to lecture me about being rude to a god’s shrine, but I have yet to see you not here since, you didn’t go inside to get that blanket before, you introduced yourself as him, and I mentioned to you that I wanted my paper pushed back and it was.” Kuroko listed off.

Akashi smiled in approval, “And you’re convinced that none of those are coincidences.”

“I’m at least suspicious that they aren’t.”

Akashi placed his hand over top of Kuroko’s and slid closer until their shoulders touched. “I hope you come to a solidified conclusion soon then.”

“You not denying it is going on the list of reasons as well.” Kuroko told him. “You could just tell me.”

“That doesn’t sound very entertaining. I think I prefer watching you figure it out on your own.” Akashi laced their fingers together, giving Kuroko’s hand a small squeeze.

“I’d prefer to not feel like the crazy person accusing someone of being a god.”

“Would I not be the only person who’d know? And I certainly won’t consider you crazy.” Akashi just needed to push Kuroko a little more. He wondered if he really needed to push at all though at this point when Kuroko pretty much had it all figured out.

“Oh, I don’t think you do think I’m crazy. I, on the other hand, am thinking that enough for the both of us.” Kuroko told him.

Akashi chuckled lightly. He supposed he’d tortured Kuroko enough. “I think you’re being too harsh on yourself.” Akashi held out his free hand, materialising a blanket into his grasp and willed it to wrap around Kuroko’s shoulders, “Perhaps you should take a nap.”

The book fell out of Kuroko’s hands and he stared at Akashi with wide eyes before declaring, “I knew it!”

Akashi couldn’t help laughing. The face Kuroko made was much more entertaining than he could’ve imagined. “Careful. You’ll drop the blanket,” he said in between laughs.

“But . . . but why are you bothering with me?” Kuroko’s brows furrowed in confusion.

Akashi, after calming down his giggles, cupped Kuroko’s cheek to bring his face closer until he could feel Kuroko’s breath ghost over his lips. “I believe I’ve told you why.”

Kuroko felt his face heat up slightly, but didn’t try to move away. “You did, but you didn’t explain to me why you started talking to me in the first place.”

“Because I thought it  _ was _ rude for a little human to use my temple as a space to study.” Akashi lightly pinched Kuroko’s nose, letting go of his cheek, but keeping his hand.

“And that was enough to warrant coming down here to tell me to move, and then not actually kicking me out?”

Akashi flicked Kuroko on the forehead, “It’s also rude to question a god in such a way. I was simply going to remind you of your manners and kick you out if necessary when I first came. I decided to not kick you out because I figured you were a good source of human knowledge. After that I simply grew fond of you.”

“And what exactly have you managed to find out about humans while talking with me?” Kuroko arched an eyebrow.

“That most humans apparently no longer understand the concept of regularly sleeping and eating, most are completely dependent on technology, most don’t find time to learn about their gods, and--” Akashi pressed a chaste kiss on Kuroko’s forehead where he had flicked it, “I find it particularly endearing when this human blushes.”

Akashi’s words only served to cause him to blush, much to Kuroko’s irritation. “We  _ understand  _ the concept of sleeping and eating regularly, we just have trouble partaking in doing so when we are extremely busy or stressed.”

Akashi moved back to give Kuroko space, enjoying his reaction. It really was cute. “Then you’ll be getting regular hours of sleep and enough meals a day for the next month, right?”

Kuroko frowned a little when Akashi moved back, but nodded at his question. “That is certainly the plan.”

Akashi noticed the small frown and smirked, tracing his thumb along Kuroko’s bottom lip, “Did you not want me to give you back your personal space?”

“Not particularly.” Kuroko replied.

Akashi leaned back in until his lips were only a few centimeters away from Kuroko's, their noses brushing against each other. “Tell me, Tetsuya, what will you do now that you know who I am?”

Kuroko considered that for a moment. “Probably start calling you Akashi-kun.” He mused. “I’m not sure what else. Even if I wanted to tell someone, they wouldn’t really believe me. I’m more curious about what you plan to do. What does my knowing change for you?”

“Well...” Akashi closed the distance between them, briefly pressing his lips to Kuroko’s, “I’ll definitely be visiting the human world much more often,” he mumbled against them.

Kuroko pressed their lips together again before replying. “You’re immortal. And I’m not. What about that?” How long could he actually hold the attention of a god who had seen almost everything?

That was true. Akashi knew it was all too well, hence the reason he never felt the need to get too close to any humans. That wasn’t saying he couldn’t do anything about it. Human life was almost laughably easy to manipulate. “Have you ever considered being immortal?”

“Not enough that I would be able to say anything about the idea any time soon.”

“Then I can wait until you do. I  _ do  _ have the time to do so,” Akashi chuckled, kissing Kuroko again.

They might not have all the details worked out, but for the moment things could just be nice.


End file.
